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Platini urges Scotland to bid again for European Championship
MICHEL Platini, the UEFA president, has encouraged Scotland to consider another joint bid to host a future European Championship finals. In Glasgow for tonight's UEFA Cup final, the first major occasion of his reign since ousting Lennart Johansson as president, Platini outlined his complete confidence that Scotland is also capable of staging his organisation's biggest competition.
A joint bid by Scotland and the Republic of Ireland to host the Euro 2008 finals failed amidst much political recrimination, but UEFA has since shown a willingness to award its flagship tournament to less heralded partnerships, with Poland and Ukraine winning the right to stage Euro 2012 ahead of favourites Italy.
The Football Association of Wales has expressed its interest in making a joint bid with Scotland for Euro 2016, and, while the SFA is understood to still see the Republic of Ireland as more natural co-hosts geographically, Platini believes another Scottish bid would have a chance of succeeding.
"We know Scotland can organise a good competition for us with another country," he said. "The decision is political - you have 15 people voting and you don't know why they vote the way they do. It is a democracy. But if you bid, you must also be prepared to lose. I saw what happened recently, with the bids for Euro 2012, and people calling for the president of the Italian FA to be sacked because they lost out. We have to change that attitude.
"It was not my decision that Glasgow got this UEFA Cup final - that happened before I got the job - but I am very happy that my first big game is here. There is so much passion for football in Scotland and so much history. It is well deserved for Glasgow and for the SFA to have another major final."
While anticipating a hugely successful final tonight, Platini is keen to enhance the overall impact of the UEFA Cup on the football calendar by pushing through changes to the competition format from the start of the 2009-10 season.
His proposals, understood to have the support of the European Club Forum, will go before the UEFA Executive Committee when it meets in Istanbul in September. Among them are a change to 12 sections of four teams, rather than the current eight sections of five teams, in the group stage of the tournament to increase revenue and provide a more balanced set of home and away fixtures. In addition, only domestic cup winners will be eligible to qualify for the UEFA Cup, not the runners-up.
That rule has blighted Scotland's attempts to improve its co-efficient ranking in recent seasons, with teams such as Dundee United, Dunfermline and Gretna all making early exits from the UEFA Cup after qualifying as Scottish Cup runners-up.
Platini also wants to make changes to the Champions League. The format of the elite tournament would remain the same in terms of 32 teams in the group stage, but with greater access to it for the champions of lower ranked nations.
"At the end of the tournament, there is great interest in the UEFA Cup," said Platini, "but we are trying to make sure there is more interest in it from the start. We will find a new system from 2009 to make it better. The Champions League is so big - an ogre compared to the UEFA Cup - but we also know that the teams in the UEFA Cup are happy to be in it."
David Taylor, the former SFA chief executive, was at Platini's side yesterday as he prepares to take up his new position of general secretary at UEFA on 1 June. "I'm very happy that David is coming with us," said Platini. "He is going to be a very important guy for UEFA. There are problems to solve in football, but they are beautiful problems because football is a beautiful game. I am enjoying my new role 200 per cent. It is what I campaigned for and what I want to do."
Platini did not care to be reminded of his last appearance at Hampden, when he was the manager of the French side beaten 2-0 by a Scotland team who would go on to qualify for the 1990 World Cup finals at his expense.
"I don't remember that," he smiled. "I do remember Scotland losing 2-1 to Cyprus with two minutes to go in that group, then winning 3-2 in the 98th minute. I think that was why Scotland made it to the finals.
"I enjoy coming to Scotland, especially to play golf even though it is usually in a storm when I do. I actually only played here once in my career, for the French amateur team in Ayr when I was 18 years old and we beat Scotland 2-0. It's nice to be back again and I'm sure Scotland is going to enjoy a great UEFA Cup final."
MICHEL Platini, the UEFA president, has encouraged Scotland to consider another joint bid to host a future European Championship finals. In Glasgow for tonight's UEFA Cup final, the first major occasion of his reign since ousting Lennart Johansson as president, Platini outlined his complete confidence that Scotland is also capable of staging his organisation's biggest competition.
A joint bid by Scotland and the Republic of Ireland to host the Euro 2008 finals failed amidst much political recrimination, but UEFA has since shown a willingness to award its flagship tournament to less heralded partnerships, with Poland and Ukraine winning the right to stage Euro 2012 ahead of favourites Italy.
The Football Association of Wales has expressed its interest in making a joint bid with Scotland for Euro 2016, and, while the SFA is understood to still see the Republic of Ireland as more natural co-hosts geographically, Platini believes another Scottish bid would have a chance of succeeding.
"We know Scotland can organise a good competition for us with another country," he said. "The decision is political - you have 15 people voting and you don't know why they vote the way they do. It is a democracy. But if you bid, you must also be prepared to lose. I saw what happened recently, with the bids for Euro 2012, and people calling for the president of the Italian FA to be sacked because they lost out. We have to change that attitude.
"It was not my decision that Glasgow got this UEFA Cup final - that happened before I got the job - but I am very happy that my first big game is here. There is so much passion for football in Scotland and so much history. It is well deserved for Glasgow and for the SFA to have another major final."
While anticipating a hugely successful final tonight, Platini is keen to enhance the overall impact of the UEFA Cup on the football calendar by pushing through changes to the competition format from the start of the 2009-10 season.
His proposals, understood to have the support of the European Club Forum, will go before the UEFA Executive Committee when it meets in Istanbul in September. Among them are a change to 12 sections of four teams, rather than the current eight sections of five teams, in the group stage of the tournament to increase revenue and provide a more balanced set of home and away fixtures. In addition, only domestic cup winners will be eligible to qualify for the UEFA Cup, not the runners-up.
That rule has blighted Scotland's attempts to improve its co-efficient ranking in recent seasons, with teams such as Dundee United, Dunfermline and Gretna all making early exits from the UEFA Cup after qualifying as Scottish Cup runners-up.
Platini also wants to make changes to the Champions League. The format of the elite tournament would remain the same in terms of 32 teams in the group stage, but with greater access to it for the champions of lower ranked nations.
"At the end of the tournament, there is great interest in the UEFA Cup," said Platini, "but we are trying to make sure there is more interest in it from the start. We will find a new system from 2009 to make it better. The Champions League is so big - an ogre compared to the UEFA Cup - but we also know that the teams in the UEFA Cup are happy to be in it."
David Taylor, the former SFA chief executive, was at Platini's side yesterday as he prepares to take up his new position of general secretary at UEFA on 1 June. "I'm very happy that David is coming with us," said Platini. "He is going to be a very important guy for UEFA. There are problems to solve in football, but they are beautiful problems because football is a beautiful game. I am enjoying my new role 200 per cent. It is what I campaigned for and what I want to do."
Platini did not care to be reminded of his last appearance at Hampden, when he was the manager of the French side beaten 2-0 by a Scotland team who would go on to qualify for the 1990 World Cup finals at his expense.
"I don't remember that," he smiled. "I do remember Scotland losing 2-1 to Cyprus with two minutes to go in that group, then winning 3-2 in the 98th minute. I think that was why Scotland made it to the finals.
"I enjoy coming to Scotland, especially to play golf even though it is usually in a storm when I do. I actually only played here once in my career, for the French amateur team in Ayr when I was 18 years old and we beat Scotland 2-0. It's nice to be back again and I'm sure Scotland is going to enjoy a great UEFA Cup final."
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